Lost in Concert: We Have To Go Back (2024)

LOST IN CONCERT: WE HAVE TO GO BACK
Music composed and conducted by Michael Giacchino
Performed by the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra
Special guests: Evangeline Lilly, Henry Ian Cusick and Carlton Cuse
Produced by Little Jacket Industries, Michael Giacchino, and Maria Giacchino
April 27, 2024
Hawaii Theatre
Honolulu, USA

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

It was a real privilege to be able to attend last night’s triumphant 20th anniversary event, LOST IN CONCERT: WE HAVE TO GO BACK, with its composer, Michael Giacchino, conducting the orchestra.

Hundreds of hardcore “Losties” – and I’m sure many new ones created as a result of the concert – descended upon the Hawaii Theatre in Honolulu for a night of music from the TV show’s vast library of unforgettable themes.

Preceding each piece or suite of music were anecdotes and script readings from the evening’s three very special guests: Evangeline Lilly, who played Kate Austen in the original series, Henry Ian Cusick, who played Desmond Hume, and Carlton Cuse, the showrunner of LOST.

PART 2: THE FIRST HALF

The evening started with a thrilling percussion-driven performance of the show’s iconic opening sequence starting with the zoom-in shot on Jack’s eye, then taking us through the chaotic aftermath of the plane crash on the beach (from S1 soundtrack: “Main Title,” “The Eyeland,” “World’s Worst Beach Party.”) Under the baton of the uncredited guest conductor (who I believe was orchestrator Jeff Kryka – please correct me if I am wrong!), it was a pulse-pounding way to get the concert started.

The audience immediately erupted into cheers when Evangeline Lilly, looking ravishing in a sharp black dress, graced the stage. She was soon followed by Henry Ian Cusick, who quickly won over the many women (and men!) in the audience with his suave Scottish charm.

Michael Giacchino, in his trademark cap, jeans, and snazzy jacket, was then welcomed to the stage to conduct the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra for the remainder of the concert.

Before Giacchino got started, Lilly and Cusick did a fun script reading of one of the important early scenes between “Kate” and “Sawyer” where they reveal their pasts over a whiskey drinking game.

This was followed by a suite of music titled “Live together, die alone.” It immediately and effectively painted pictures of the dangerous and often complicated relationship between Kate and Sawyer.

“Take a hike” (from S1 soundtrack, latter half of “Hollywood and Vines”) came next, an adventurous piece that builds with both anticipation and trepidation for what is to come. It played while an image of the survivors hiking up a mounting slowly came into focus.

The terrifying sounds of “Smoke monster” then filled the auditorium complete with stabbing strings and snarling brass. It was a sensational piece to hear live, and one that I’m sure gave many in the audience the chills.

It was now time for Carlton Cuse, the LOST showrunner, to come on stage and regale us with his thoughts on the making of LOST and how Giacchino’s music would always save the day when filmed scenes were coming up short emotionally. He also confidently stated that he thought the score to LOST was the greatest score for a TV series ever, something I’m sure nobody could disagree with that night.

This was followed by the heartrending “Locke’d out again” (from S1 soundtrack). No images or background narration were necessary to truly feel John Locke’s anguish… As the piece built into a tremendous climax, we were all in one in our sympathy for one of LOST’s most tragic characters.

Giacchino then took to the microphone and apologized that audience favorite, Jorge Garcia (a.k.a. Hugo “Hurley” Reyes), would not be present at the concert that night despite wanting to be there.

Disappointment quickly turned into joy as we were then treated to an upbeat and crowd-pleasing performance of “Hurley’s handouts” (from S2 soundtrack). If I’m not mistaken, the first violin had switched instruments and could be seen strumming away at the ukulele for this much-loved piece.

Cusick then returned to the stage to deliver an emotional wallop with a deeply impassioned reading of the script for when Charlie drowns in the water tank. As he described the moment Charlie swims to the window and presses his palm against it, Cusick too raised his arm and revealed the message written on his palm: “Not Penny’s boat.” An emotionally-charged performance of “Life and death” (from S1 soundtrack) then played, leaving the audience in a pool of tears – one of many that night.

The emotional onslaught continued with the whole final sequence of season one projected on screen. Starting with the moment that Jin explains to Sun why he has to leave her, my eyes had already started welling up – and not a single bit of music had even started playing yet.

And when the opening solo cello line of “Parting words” (from S1 soundtrack) finally began, my tears just couldn’t stop flowing – not only because the music captured so well what they were feeling, but because I could truly identify and sympathize with their actions and emotions. I mean, who wouldn’t do the same as Jin to protect or save the person they love?

The piece ended with that iconic season finale brass stinger, leading to a well-deserved intermission.

Like many in the audience that night, I needed a breather to recompose myself after the emotion-filled first half.

PART 3: AN INTERMISSION VIDEO & SURPRISE GUEST

Much to the delight of the audience, a Dharma Initiative orientation video was projected on screen during the intermission.

To the surprise of those sitting in the arena block, Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and friend of Giacchino, sat down with the audience during the intermission to enjoy the second half of the show. He happily posed for photos – in a Deadpool/Wolverine cap no less – with the few lucky fans that noticed him.

Here’s my paparazzi shot of him from a few rows away:

PART 4: THE SECOND HALF

After a brief performance of the deeply menacing theme for “The Others,” a short video promo for Mr. Clucks grilled chicken featuring Hugo “Hurley” Reyes was projected on screen to the amusement and cheers of the audience.

Giacchino then took center stage to quickly introduce the different instruments in the orchestra and how they contributed to the sound of LOST. He highlighted the cellos and basses with a quick reading of “The Others” theme, the trombones and their iconic pre-break stinger, the violins creating mystery and unease, the jungle drums and their role in driving the many chase and action scenes throughout the series, and so on. As a non-musician, I found it highly educational and something I hope could be expanded into a MUSIC OF LOST: 101 class (or concert!) someday. Please 😊

Lilly and Cusick returned to do a script reading for a scene between one of my favorite couples in LOST: Desmond Hume and Penny Widmore.

It was the scene that Desmond and Penny finally make radio contact after years of searching for each other.

While Cusick narrated the script in his standard British accent, he voiced his script lines in his instantly recognizable “Desmond” voice, with Lilly doing a convincing British accent for “Penny.”

As the scene progressed, and radio contact was becoming more and more garbled, you could hear and see on stage their desperation and undying will to meet again. The scene ended with them looking at each other in character and saying, in the most genuine and heartbreaking way, “I love you.”

“The Constant” (from S4 soundtrack) then began and we were immediately swept away into their timeless romance. The piece was bursting with passion and the purest of love, swelling to signify their unfailing determination to be with each other again, whatever the cost.

My favorite piece of the entire series came next with an utterly gorgeous performance of “Oceanic 6,” a.k.a. “Landing party” (from S4 soundtrack).

Before the piece was played, Lilly returned to the stage to give a heartbreaking script reading of the scene when the Oceanic 6 return to civilization and her character is wracked with loneliness. It was the perfect set up to “Landing party,” which started with a feeling of accomplishment and hope before segueing into a gorgeously bittersweet duet between the piano and cello. It then climaxed with a grand statement of the themes for love and longing.

To be honest, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve had this piece on mental repeat since the concert last night…

Another fine performance of the stunningly beautiful piece “LAX” (from The Final Season, disc 1) came next. Opening with lone harp, the piano and strings then entered to fill our hearts with the deepest sense of longing and sadness for we all knew that their long journey was soon to come to an end.

After rapturous applause, Lilly and Cusick returned to the stage to throw the spotlight on Giacchino and all his extraordinary music for LOST.

It is then that Giacchino explained what being involved with LOST meant to him, the relationships he built during the 6 years of filming the show, and that it was his all-time personal favorite.

He then proudly proclaimed that all LOST fans were good and decent people to which the audience roared their approval!

Lilly then took the mike and promised one final piece, which she described as “the one.”

“The one” being the entire final sequence of LOST starting from the time Jack arrives at the church to find the empty coffin.

As soon as he places his hand on the coffin and has a split-second flashback, Giacchino’s “Jumping Jack’s Flash” (from The Last Episodes, disc 2) started to play, marking the beginning of the most emotional and perfect pieces of scoring – TV or otherwise – ever.

The auditorium went dead silent as Jack’s father, Christian Shepard, appeared and explained to him in a reassuring and fatherly tone what had happened to him. By this point I just couldn’t hold back the tears anymore – since becoming a father myself and realizing the preciousness of family and life, this scene just resonated with me so much more deeply now than the first time I saw it when it premiered years ago.

As the scene continued and we were reunited with all our beloved cast members from LOST over the years, I again began to tear up – but this time, it was tears of joy knowing that Jack had finally made it to a happy place and could move on.

And that ended the most emotionally draining and satisfying film music concert I have ever been to.

Of the 50+ film music concerts I’ve been to over the last 20 years, I had never openly cried until this one – and in fact, so moved was I by the music and performance last night that I cried my eyes out… twice!

PART 5: LOST AND WHY WE CARE ABOUT IT

It wasn’t hard to see how beloved LOST is based on last night’s concert turnout. People had flown in from far and wide to be there (myself included!), many were cosplaying in Dharma Initiative jumpsuits, others were wearing LOST-themed t-shirts (as well as cool Michael Giacchino ones!), and a large number of others were carrying around a variety of weird and wonderful LOST memorabilia hoping to get them signed.

One of the main reasons that LOST has so many devoted fans is that it connects with so many people on a deeply personal level. Despite the series being based on some pretty outlandish science fiction, the core of the story has always been about human relationships and the emotions that drive human behavior.

A typical episode would cover multiple themes involving love, loss, fear, pain, redemption, rejection, jealousy, hope and so much more. That the writers understood these emotions and could clearly write them into relatable situations is amazing- not to mention all the incredible actors that convincingly showed these emotions time and time again throughout the show.

Equally amazing is the fact that Giacchino took all these emotions and expressed them in his music in simple, universally understood terms.

We cared about what happened to Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Ben, Locke, Hurley, Jin, Sun, Charlie, Desmond, Ana Lucia, and others because we could truly understand how they were feeling and why they did the things they did. We could relate to them because we had experienced many of those emotions ourselves.

Giacchino’s music helped this happen on a subconscious level, and he did this even when the acting or story was less than perfect.

I doubt anyone would disagree when I say that Giacchino’s music “made” the show – it helped define each character, made us love, hate or sympathize with them, and acted as a guiding hand through the show’s most emotional moments.

Even now, after 20 years of LOST, just listening to one bar of music I know exactly who the music is for, what scene it was written for, and what the character was feeling at that moment.

It’s true testament to the genius and timelessness of Michael Giacchino’s incredible music for LOST.

PART 6: PRE-CONCERT SIGNING

As (pre-concert) icing on the cake, Mutant and Aloha Got Soul co-hosted a pre-concert signing session at AGS Honolulu the day before the concert. They also sold exclusive copies of Giacchino’s latest 7-inch single, EXOTIC THEMES FOR THE SILVER SCREEN, which comprised of two newly recorded re-imagined themes from LOST.

Limited to about 200 spots, the free signing event reached capacity by the morning of the event.

I brought three albums with me to be signed, with one for me and two for friends who could not travel to Hawaii for the concert.

Giacchino signed my LOST vinyl misprint (catalogue # VSD00666), which was inexplicably missing the composer credit on the jacket. I can now happily say that this has been rectified… by the composer himself 😊

I also managed to grab a selfie with Giacchino:

I thought it was bad form to come to this event without giving Giacchino something as a way of showing my appreciation, so a few days before I left Japan for the concert, I had personalized chopsticks made for him in Tokyo.

He took off the gift wrapping in front of me and remarked that these had “travelled a long distance to be here.” They had indeed 🙂

I would later find out that Kevin Feige and Carlton Cuse also showed up to the event and posed for photos or signed for a few lucky fans.

Mo Shafeek, co-founder of Mutant, was also there supervising the event and handing out free concert posters. It was a wonderful and unexpected gift – thank you!

PART 7: CONCERT MERCH

Despite getting to the venue an hour early, there was already a huge line waiting outside Hawaii Theatre.

By the time I got inside and headed towards the merch table upstairs, the merch line had already extended downstairs.

After about 45 minutes of waiting, I made it to the merch table and purchased the exclusive yellow and orange swirl variant of the 7-inch single, as well as the LOST concert t-shirt.

A HUGE thanks to the people at Mutant for producing the merch, and most importantly for organizing the pre-concert signing session with Giacchino. It truly was a dream come true!

PART 8: CONCERT POSTER & PROGRAM

Free concert posters were given out at the pre-concert signing and after the concert itself. This will look mighty fine on my wall!

The complimentary April-June 2024 Concert Guide also had a few pages devoted to LOST IN CONCERT:

PART 9: OVER TO YOU

Did you also go to this concert? How did you like it?

And what did you think of my report? Feel free to comment below or reach out to me directly in the “Contact Me” section.